After the Jump: Finding Your Voice Through Social Media

For this week’s radio show, I really wanted to revisit a topic I’d covered before, but update it to reflect how vastly the online world has changed. Last year Amy and I did a show on Finding Your Voice that was geared primarily toward blogging and blog posts. But the online world has changed and people don’t visit homepages in the same way. Whether you’re a blogger, business owner or designer, it’s incredibly important to create a successful but authentic voice for yourself using social media. From Instagram and Pinterest to Youtube and Facebook, the outlets to express yourself and your businesses’ point of view are endless. While it can seem overwhelming, rediscovering your voice through social media can be inspiring, exciting and an unexpected way to get back in touch with your core personal and work values and points of view.

So in this show I’m talking about: how to find and rediscover your voice, how to translate that voice into a consistent visual presence and voice and how to vary the content you offer on different social channels to keep your audience engaged and interested. Thanks so much for listening! xo, grace

*P.S.: I learned on this show that I need to stop trying to fit SO much information into one 30-minute segment. Sorry for the speed-reading. I’ll be much slower next time, promise.

I am really going to take your suggestion of creating a physical mood board to heart! My business partner and I (who live across the country from each other) will do this in June when we meet for a planning powwow. Thanks Grace. This column is always gold and I liked the added element of the radio show piece this week!

Once again….so helpful and well timed (for me personally) – thank you. Just finishing a huge (book) project, I am feeling a little spent and a little lost – seriously a big case of ‘what the what just happened’? and ‘Now what?’ These suggestions are great. I have to admit, I am I little dubious on how the physical vision board is going to help me get at my new goals….but I’ve got a huge pile of magazines that haven’t been read and need to get cleared our….so I am certainly game to give it a try. ;)

I’ve long been a fan of your blog, though I doubt I’ve ever commented, but I’ve just discovered your podcast and am in love with it! I especially all the work/life balance episodes. I’ve been binge-listening while walking our dog:) Thanks so much for sharing your experience and knowledge so generously.

I do hope that you’ll revisit your take on Pinterest. I don’t think it was ever meant to be a place where you pin your own image (I’m actually turned off by the self-promotion there in a way I never am when I see it on Instagram or FB). The reason Pinterest has successed beyong places like houzz is the built-in link to the original source. Your podcast was a great opportunity to educate people how to pin responsibly (take the time to make sure your pin does link back to the right page—not a site’s home page that will change—and to the original source). Perhaps you have discussed this on other posts, but we really need sites like Design*Sponge to lead the way. Most people will do the right thing once they know how.

I agree that Pinterest that I don’t feel Ben’s main goal with Pinterest was to have people upload only their own images- but I do think (based on talks he’s given) that he did intend for it to be a place that people used lawfully.

While my overall thoughts on the site’s effect on web behavior are the same, I’ve been happy to see more people trying to use it responsibly. I understand why people love and use the site- we use it, too. But I do hope that after writing about this topic and seeing others write about it, too that people will work to make sure that the creators of artwork, photographs and original content are credited for their work.

….and I was only listening to that podcast (for the second time) last night. Great idea to revisit it, because your podcasts are just PACKED with useful, absorbing information. It’s easy to forget some of the many nuggets of good advice when you’re listening on the run and can’t get to jot them down. Thanks Grace, Amy and your hardworking team.

Design*Sponge reserves the right to restrict comments that do not contribute constructively to the conversation at hand, that comment on people's physical appearance, contain profanity, personal attacks, hate speech or seek to promote a personal or unrelated business. Our goal is to create a safe space where everyone (commenters, subjects of posts and moderators) feels comfortable to speak. Please treat others the way you would like to be treated and be willing to take responsibility for the impact your words may have on others. Disagreement, differences of opinion and heated discussion are welcome, but comments that do not seek to have a mature and constructive dialogue will not be published. We moderate all comments with great care and do not delete any lightly. Please note that our team (writers, moderators and guests) deserve the same right to speak and respond as you do, and your comments may be responded to or disagreed with. These guidelines help us maintain a safe space and work toward our goal of connecting with and learning from each other.